Workplace Etiquette Reminders Before Heading Back into the Office

With vaccination rates on the rise, many companies are now looking at bringing employees back into offices and physical workplaces. The shift from work-from-home to back on-site may be challenging, but employers can help ease the transition by reminding employees of these simple workplace etiquettes. The workplace has evolved since the pandemic, so while some of this will be a quick refresher for employees, other tips may be new habits they’ll have to learn.

 

 Here are a few workplace etiquette tips for today’s workplace from our employment experts at Nova Staffing.

 

Dress Appropriately

What people wear while working will be one of the biggest changes people will have to adjust to when returning to the office. For many people, their work clothes have gone untouched in their closets for the past year. While rocking sweatpants and messy hair at home was fine, be sure to remind employees of the office dress code before they return. Now is the time to review dress expectations or create new ones if you feel your company culture has shifted.

 

Prioritize Personal Space

Personal space has always been important, but even more so since COVID. Employers should do what they can to ensure the workplace follows socially distancing guidelines, like moving desks further apart and organizing chairs in meetings so that they’re spaced out. Also, be sure to encourage employees to respect personal space and social distance. You can even try to develop a color-code system so that employees can signal how comfortable they are with physical contact.

 

Focus on Health

One of the biggest things employers should address about workplace etiquette is sickness. Employees are more concerned than ever about ill co-workers coming in at this time. Make sure you have clear guidelines on what they should do about physical health. It’s also important for your company to review and possibly revamp its sick policy. While it might have been okay for workers to come in and work while sick in the past, that isn’t acceptable anymore. Employees who are sniffling, have a fever, or have other contagious symptoms should stay home. The good news is that workers showed they can work from home effectively, so there are options!

 

Remember how to Socialize

It’s been so long since co-workers interacted with each other in person, many of them are probably out of practice. Consider hosting a social event prior to bringing everyone back into the office. This will give them a chance to reconnect without distracting them from work and give them a chance to remember how to socialize in a professional environment.

 

Establish Conversation No-Nos

Some things haven’t changed when it comes to the workplace. Certain subjects still aren’t good for work time discussions. Employers might not want to ban conversation, but it’s still good to remind employees that it’s unprofessional to discuss things like religion, money, sex, and politics while on the clock. That also goes for COVID-19. Opinions about origins, vaccinations, statistics, and others might cause rifts. Companies should be open to discussing employee concerns about working with unvaccinated co-workers and other health and safety guidelines.

 

If you’re looking for more employment tips or need to hire new staff, contact Nova Staffing today! Our team of staffing experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.